Spindle construction



c. 15, 1935. J. w. PARKER 2,017,290

SPINDLE CONSTRUCTION Filed March 5, 1934 ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 15, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to the construction of spindles for high speed boring units and the like, and more especially to means for insuring quietness of operation of the bearings and spindle shafts of such units.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an improved spindle construction.

Another object is to provide bearings for a spindle shaft which will automatically take up wear and al1ow axial thrust of the spindle shaft due to unequal expansion of such shaft and the spindle body without causing chattering, vibration, or uneven' operation of the spindle shaft or bearing.

A further object is to provide for the regulation of the flow of lubricant to the bearing of a high speed spindle shaft.

It is also an object of this invention to prevent grit and dirt from being carried to the spindle bearings by the lubricant supplied thereto.

A stil1 further object is to provide means for feeding lubricant to the bearings of a high speed spindle by capillary action through the intermediary of a wick-like means while preventing the latter from interiering with the operation and assembly of the spindle.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for feeding limited quantities of lubricant to bearings of a high speed spindle while at the same time filtering out dirt or solid matter from the lubricant to prevent its transmission to parts of the spindle bearings.

It is a further object of the invention to pro- Vide a spindle construction containing a lubricant reservoir and means for feeding clean lubricant to the spindle shaft bearings, said spindle and the lubricating system therefor being removable as a unit from the mounting for the spindle.

Other objects, features and advantages will become apparent from the following description and appended claims.

For the purpose of illustrating the genus of the invention, a typical concrete embodiment is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a central and in part vertical section taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 isa section taken on the line 22 cf Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a section, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

In the use of high speed precision spindles, the accuracy of the work performed depends largely on the steadiness of operation of the spindle shaft which in turn depends primarily upon balance of the shaft and upon the character, condition and lubrication of the bearings for such spindle shaft. The bearings for the spindle shaft should automatically take up end play of the spindle shaft and allow relative linear expansion 5 of the shaft and spindle body Without causing excessive loading or binding of the bearings. The bearings should also automatically compensate for wear of the anti-friction elements and races so that play within the bearings will ha 10 reduced to a minimum. I have also found that the quantity of lubricant supplied to the bearings should be regulated since too small a quantity of lubricant causes destruction of the antifriction elements and races and too great a quan- 15 tity of lubricant has a similar effect. With an excessive quantity of lubricant supplied to the bearings the high speed operation of the spindle throws the lubricant outward1y due to centrifuga1 forces set up therein and .increases the pres- 20 sures of the lubricant at the inner surfaces of the outer races and other parts engageable with the anti-friction elements. This high pressure developed between the inner surfaces of the elements engageable With the outermost parts of 25 the anti-iriction elements causes a pitting of such anti-friction elements which in turn causes scoring of the bearing races and other parts engageable with the anti-friction elements.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the numeral 30 10 indicates a irame including a split clamp 11 and cylindrical bore 12 adapted to hold a spindle body 14 therein. The spindle body 14 is provided with a longitudinal bore 16 deepened at the central portion of the spindle body to provide a 35 lubricant recess or annular reservoir I'1. Axially outwardly of the annular reservoir 11 and spaced therefrom, the bore 16 is deepened to provide the cylindrical spaces 20 and 21 and axially beyond these cylindrical spaces the bore 16 is 40 enlarged or deepened still more to provide the cylindrical longitudinal bored portions 23 and 24 for the reception of bearings 25. The axial spacing between the cylindrical bored portions 213 and 21 and the annular reservoir 17 provides inwardly 45 directed annular shoulders 26 and 21 in which a sleeve 28 is disposed. The sleeve 28 is provided With an outwardly directed fiange 30 engageable with the inwardly directed annular flange 21 of the spindle body 14 and fitting the bore 21. The 50 spindl6 body M is provided With a downwardly directed passage extending to the oil reservoir I! and communicates with 3, passage 32 provided to the top of the split clamp l 1 and threaded to receive an oil cup 33. Wick members 35 are 5.{5

arranged longitudinally of the bottom of the lubricant reservoir I! and extend through recesses provided to the inwardly directed annular fianges 26 and 21 and the outwardly directed fiange 38 to provide passages 36 and 31 through these fianges. The passages 36 and 31 are inclined in an upward direction from the bottom of the reservoir I! and extend into the cylindrical bores 20 and 21 provided adjacent the bearings 25. The wick members 35 extend through the passages 36-and 31 and into the bottom portion of the cylindrical bores 20 and 2l so as to contact one side of each of the bearings 25.

The bearings 25 are of the typedisclosed in the United States Patent 1,886,219 granted to the present applicant November 1, 1932, and each.

comprises a pair of outer race ring sections 39 and 40 which have inwardly sloping faces 41 and 42 respectively. The sloping faces 4land 42 engage the outer side of two rows of bali bearings 43 and 44 which are interposed between the inner and outer races of the bearings. The inner race 45 of each bearing is provided With a pair of axially spaced radius grooves 46 of considerably less curvature than that of the ball bearings 43 and 44. The outer race sections 39 and 46 are annularly recessed inwardly of the sloping faces M and 42 for the reception of inner race rings 59 and 51 which are axially slidable within the annular recesss thereior and have outwardly, sloping faces 52 and 53 adapted to engage the inner side of the tWo rows cf bal] bearings 43 and 44, thus forming angled grooves or races for the halls. Annular rings of spring steel 54 having a plurality of spring lugs 55 struck out from the peripheral margin thereof are provided for axially separating the inner race rings and 5! to automatically take up wear of the ball bearings and race elements engaged therewith and yieldably to oppose relative axial displacement o-f the inner and outer races of the bearings. Axial displacemcnt in either direction of the.inner race 45 With respect to the outer race ring sections 39 and 40 will wedge the inner race rings and 51 toward one another against the biasing action of theresilient element 54. Axial displacement of the inner ring relative to the outer ring sections in either direction will move the ball bearings 43 and 44 inwardly toward the spring element 54 and radially outwardly with respect to the axis of the bearing. Thus the spring element 54 not only separates the inner race ring elements 50 -threaded tothe outer ends of the walls of the bores 23 and 24. A pulley 50 and spacer member 6l are retained on the rear end of-the shaft 56 by means of a nut 62. Upon the front end of the shaft 56 a cap member 63 and a spacermember 6! are retainedupon the shaft by means or a r nut 54 which aise serves t0 retain the spindle of a tool 65 within a bore 66 provided on the forward end of the shaft 53. 7 A ventpassage 687 extends horizontally and then downwardly from r'ear end face of the spindle body l 4 to the top of the annular reservoir l1.

In thecperation of the spindle, the wicks 35 f eed, by capillary action, lubricant from the reservoir l7 to the bearings 25 in limited quantities so that excessive pressures of oil or other lubricant are not devel0ped between the ball bearing elements and the outer race ring sections 5 39 and 40 and the inner race rings 50 and 5l. This prevents pitting of the ball bearing elements 43 and 44 and destruction of the race rings 39, 40,

50 and 5l. The horizontal disposition of the major portion of the vent passages reduces the 10 likelihood of grit or dirt entering the reservoir Il. Even if solid matter is admitted to the lubricant reservoir, the wick member 35 will filter the lubricant so that no foreign matter can be carriedto parts of the bearings so as to cause 15 injury thereto. The bearings 25 will permit unqual lir1ear expansion of the spindle shaft 56 andthe spindle body 14 and at the same time preserving three point contact between the ball bearing elements and the inner and outer races 20 of the bearings. This reduces play within the bearings to a minimum and eliminates vibration and chatter of the spindle shaft when rotated at high speed.

It is to be particularly noted that not only 25 is the spindle body M and all other parts of the spindle structure mounted therein applicable to and removable from a machine tool as a unit, as in conventional constructions, but additionally it has the novel feature of incorporating its own 30 ,oiling system and oil reservoir as a built in part of the unit, and thus removal, or changing of the unit between difierent machine tools, will not expose the lubricating system to the introduction of foreign matter. 35

As manychanges could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be effectedwithout departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the 40 above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

in spaced relation With respect to rotatable parts of said toc].

2. In a boring tool, a spindle comprising a lonigtudinally hollow spindle body, aligned bearings arranged in spaced relation in said body, a spindle shaft journaled in said bearings, said hol- 60 low body providinga lubricant reservoir intermediate said bearings, spaced annular fianges directed inwardly of the bore of said spindle body and intermediate said bearings a sleeve disposed 'from the lubricant to prevent injury to said bearings.

' 3. In aboring'tocl,- a spindle comprising a longitudnally hollow spindle body, aligned bearing arranged in spaced relation in said body, a spindle shaft journaled in said bearing, said hollow body providing a. lubricant reservoir inter- 5 mediate said bea,ring, means for conveying lubrcant from sad reservoir by capillary action t0 ea.ch bearing, and a vent passage extending for the major portion of its length longitudinally of said spindle body from an end wa1l thereof and then inwardly of the spindle body to the reservuir theren.

JOHN W. PARKER. 

